Ray Lewis still running the show

I'm sure the families of Richard Lollar and Jacinth Baker are thrilled at the adulation of this murderer being revered for his on-field accomplishments. I, personally, will hold my applause until the day Ray Lewis is no more.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
It will never happen for Willis or Bowman. In Bmore its the front sevens job to keep Ray free to roam and make decisions, like Troy in Pit. Our DC hog ties Willis by forcing him into coverage or a specific area. In other words, I feel like we are holding him back. With that said, it still might be what's best for the team...

Edit: Like when Denever was calling plays for Peyton instead of letting him run the no-huddle and call his own plays...

How exactly is allowing the core of your elite unit to do something they do very well holding them back? Being an elite defensive player is not about accumulating stats.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
It will never happen for Willis or Bowman. In Bmore its the front sevens job to keep Ray free to roam and make decisions, like Troy in Pit. Our DC hog ties Willis by forcing him into coverage or a specific area. In other words, I feel like we are holding him back. With that said, it still might be what's best for the team...

Edit: Like when Denever was calling plays for Peyton instead of letting him run the no-huddle and call his own plays...

How exactly is allowing the core of your elite unit to do something they do very well holding them back? Being an elite defensive player is not about accumulating stats.

There is no way for me prove my statement as it's just a hypothetical, but let me ask you this. If Lewis spent all his time chasing down TEs and running 20 yards down the field, do you really think he would be as effective as he is and has been? I'd venture to say, no. Most great players are great, not because they follow the script, but because they use their instincts and talents to ad lib. Thats hard to do when your assigned to a man on passing plays and the QB rarely throws your way...

P.S: Even Matt Millen the Niner homer said Fangio runs a completly vanilla D. He's just getting really good execution from a stacked deck. I shutter to think what a guy like Rex could do with a talent pool like this.

Originally posted by IWASATTHECATCH:
I'm sure the families of Richard Lollar and Jacinth Baker are thrilled at the adulation of this murderer being revered for his on-field accomplishments. I, personally, will hold my applause until the day Ray Lewis is no more.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
There is no way for me prove my statement as it's just a hypothetical, but let me ask you this. If Lewis spent all his time chasing down TEs and running 20 yards down the field, do you really think he would be as effective as he is and has been? I'd venture to say, no. Most great players are great, not because they follow the script, but because they use their instincts and talents to ad lib. Thats hard to do when your assigned to a man on passing plays and the QB rarely throws your way...

P.S: Even Matt Millen the Niner homer said Fangio runs a completly vanilla D. He's just getting really good execution from a stacked deck. I shutter to think what a guy like Rex could do with a talent pool like this.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
There is no way for me prove my statement as it's just a hypothetical, but let me ask you this. If Lewis spent all his time chasing down TEs and running 20 yards down the field, do you really think he would be as effective as he is and has been? I'd venture to say, no. Most great players are great, not because they follow the script, but because they use their instincts and talents to ad lib. Thats hard to do when your assigned to a man on passing plays and the QB rarely throws your way...

P.S: Even Matt Millen the Niner homer said Fangio runs a completly vanilla D. He's just getting really good execution from a stacked deck. I shutter to think what a guy like Rex could do with a talent pool like this.

How many points a game did we allow last year? 14.3? How fewer points would Rex Ryan have allowed? Vic Fangio has essentially the same players plus Carlos Rogers and Aldon Smith as Nolan and Singletary's defenses that were middle of the pack. Also, Willis has had tons of 14 tackle games. and Ray Lewis gets asked to cover Tight Ends, just not as much as he is 37, and although still a very instictive player, probably no where near as fast as Bowman and Willis are now. Also, I'm pretty sure we are first in stopping the run in the NFL the last few years, which is indicative of having strong inside linebackers. You can be last in the NFL in run defense (Which I know the ravens are not) and have an inside linebacker have 14 tackle games. In fact, Willis has had less and less tackles as the defense around him got better. He broke the record for tackles in a season his rookie year but the defense wasn't better funnelling all the plays to him.

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